Contrasting Kyocera (OTCMKTS:KYOCY) & Alps Electric (OTCMKTS:APELY)

Kyocera (OTCMKTS:KYOCY) and Alps Electric (OTCMKTS:APELY) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings and valuation.

Risk & Volatility

Kyocera has a beta of 0.3, indicating that its stock price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alps Electric has a beta of 0.32, indicating that its stock price is 68% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Kyocera pays an annual dividend of $0.26 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Alps Electric pays an annual dividend of $0.47 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Kyocera pays out 118.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Alps Electric pays out 14.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Alps Electric is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Kyocera and Alps Electric, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kyocera	0	1	0	0	2.00
Alps Electric	1	0	0	1	2.50

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Kyocera and Alps Electric”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kyocera	$13.23 billion	1.58	$159.04 million	$0.22	67.25
Alps Electric	$6.50 billion	0.41	$249.72 million	$3.23	7.97

Alps Electric has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Kyocera. Alps Electric is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Kyocera, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

7.4% of Kyocera shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.1% of Alps Electric shares are held by institutional investors. 10.4% of Alps Electric shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Kyocera and Alps Electric’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kyocera	2.25%	1.37%	0.99%
Alps Electric	4.91%	5.41%	3.03%

Summary

Alps Electric beats Kyocera on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Kyocera

Kyocera Corporation develops, produces, and distributes products based on fine ceramic technologies in Japan, rest of Asia, Europe, the United States, and internationally. It operates through Core Components Business, Electronic Components Business, and Solutions Business segments. The Core Components Business segment offers components, such as fine ceramic components for semiconductor processing equipment, automotive camera modules, and ceramic packages, as well as organic packages and boards to protect electronic components and ICs to industrial machinery, automotive-related, and the information and communication-related markets; optical components, and jewelry and applied ceramic related products; and medical devices comprising prosthetic joints and dental implants. The Electronic Components Business segment provides various electronic components and devices, including capacitors, crystal devices, connectors, and power semiconductor devices for diverse fields comprising information and communications, industrial equipment, automotive-related, and consumer markets, as well as sensors and control components. The Solutions Business segment offers cutting tools, as well as pneumatic and power tools for automotive-related and general industrial, and construction markets; printers for offices; and communication terminals, such as mobile phones, as well as information systems and telecommunication services. This segment also provides MFPs, commercial inkjet printers, communication modules, displays, and printing devices, as well as information systems and telecommunication, smart energy-related products and services, and solution services, such as document management system. The company was formerly known as Kyoto Ceramic Kabushiki Kaisha and changed its name to Kyocera Corporation in 1982. Kyocera Corporation was incorporated in 1946 and is headquartered in Kyoto, Japan.

About Alps Electric

Alps Alpine Co., Ltd. manufactures and sells electronic components in Japan and internationally. It operates through four segments: Components, Sensor Communication, Module Systems, and Logistics. The company’s products for the consumer, industrial equipment, and IoT markets include TACT switches, worker condition monitoring systems, HAPTIC reactor, actuator for cameras, remote monitoring system for logistics, analog meter monitoring system, resistive position sensor, pressure sensor, air environment sensor module, three-axis geomagnetic sensor, humidity sensor, and pc board mount current sensor. Its products for the automotive market comprises TACT and detector switches, Encoder, aspherical glass lens with metal holder, HAPTIC reactor, trimagic converter, current sensor, magnetic sensor, millimeter-wave sensor, GNSS module, 5G NR module, power window switch, electric shifter, sound system, cabin controller, smart door trim, electric shifter, integrated display, premium sound speakers, and customized car products. The company also provides systems development, office, and financing and leasing services, as well as transportation, storage, and forwarding services. The company was formerly known as Alps Electric Co., Ltd. and changed its name to Alps Alpine Co., Ltd. in January 2019. The company was incorporated in 1948 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.